Irish singer-songwriter Moncrieff is back with his most personal and fully-realised release to date. ‘Stubborn’ is a raw, love letter about the cost of pride – the kind that quietly erodes the friendships we can’t afford to lose, some how cleverly disguised as a sun-drenched resonant summer anthem. Written about the slow dissolution of a close friendship following a falling out, the track speaks to a universal human experience: the aching awareness of all the moments slipping by while silence grows louder than anything you could say.
On the surface, ‘Stubborn’ is a joyful call to action – a rallying cry for your day ones. It urges listeners to go on thatroad trip, to say yes to that night out, to stay for that extra pint you know you’ll feel in the morning. But beneath the upbeat, guitar-driven sound lies something more tender: a meditation on masculine vulnerability and the silent grief of a man who misses his best friend but doesn’t know how to say it.
“Stubborn is about a silence that becomes deafening. You’re not just missing a person – you’remourning all the versions of yourself that only existed around them. I wanted to write something thatgives voice to that feeling, but also lights a fire under people to go fix it before it’s too late.” – Moncrieff
The song captures this duality masterfully. The chorus paints a vivid picture of what has been lost – “staring at that fire in the sky getting sunburnt / if we weren’t so stubborn” – a snapshot of golden, care free moments that pride has putout of reach. Earlier in the track, the fractured dynamic is laid bare with the quietly devastating line “I’d fight you alone, but I’m hurting half of me,” a lyric that cuts to the heart of what it means to lose someone who has become a part of your identity.
Musically, ‘Stubborn’ signals a significant evolution for Moncrieff. Moving away from the introspective balladry of his earlier work, the track blends contemporary pop with rootsy, Fleetwood Mac-inspired guitar riffs – a sound that feels both nostalgic and urgent. The result is a track that somehow keeps your head nodding while quietly breaking yourheart: a hopeful soundscape carrying the weight of something real.
“I wanted the music to feel like the memory itself – warm and alive and just out of reach. The nostalgia in the sound had to earn the emotion in the lyric.” – Moncrieff
At its deeper core, ‘Stubborn’ examines the complicated reality of young men navigating a culture that discourages emotional openness. It gives voice to the internal struggle of a man silently yearning for connection while feelingcompelled to maintain a nonchalant exterior. It is a song about brotherhood, about the masks we wear, and about the quiet cost of leaving things unsaid.
‘Stubborn’ is a reminder that life is short, tomorrow isn’t promised, and the moments you don’t grab with both hands are the ones you’ll regret for twenty years.
Photo credit – press photo